Israel’s security cabinet voted unanimously in favor of a “mutual and unconditional” truce in Gaza. The agreement, proposed by Egypt, could bring to an end the fiercest fighting in decades. Israeli media reports the ceasefire is set to begin on Friday. The deal comes as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during a special General Assembly meeting on Thursday.

Joining the discussion:

• Omar Baddar is the former Deputy Director of the Arab American Institute.
• Dan Arbell is a 25-year veteran of the Israeli Foreign Service and a Scholar-in-Residence at American University’s Center for Israeli Studies.
• Yossi Mekelberg focuses on the Middle East and North Africa as a senior consulting research fellow at Chatham House. 
• Khalil Jahshan is the head of the Arab Center here in Washington, D.C.
• David Rubin is the former mayor of the Israeli settlement of Shiloh and author of “Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn From Israel.”

For more:

BREAKING: The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a cease-fire to end an 11-day military strike in Gaza, according to Israeli media. Israeli and Hamas officials had previously been negotiating through Egyptian mediation. pic.twitter.com/hEW9RtjbZO

— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) May 20, 2021

A Hamas official and an Egyptian security source say a ceasefire could halt the violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories within days. But for some people on both sides of the fighting, it doesn’t matter https://t.co/F3gwhD0iBh pic.twitter.com/SZNfG3OXbc

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2021

President Biden: "Israel has agreed to a mutual unconditional cease fire to begin in less than two hours."

Full video here: https://t.co/KgAn1EPmTu pic.twitter.com/k66pZs6wJb

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 20, 2021